The Mercenary and the Shifters, The Turning Stone Chronicles, book four
Author
– C.D. Hersh
A mercenary soldier lands in the middle of
a double kidnapping, an ancient shape shifter war, and two female shape
shifters after the same thing ... him.
Genre
– Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Suspense Romance
Release
Date: July 27th, 2016
Blurb
When mercenary soldier Michael Corritore
answers a desperate call from an ex-military buddy, he finds himself in the
middle of a double kidnapping, caught in an ancient war between two shape
shifter factions, and ensnared between two female shape shifters after the same
thing ... him.
Shape shifter Fiona Kayler will do anything
to keep the shipping company her father left her, including getting in bed with
the enemy. But when she believes the man trying to steal her company is
involved with kidnapping her nephew, she must choose between family, fortune, and
love. The problem is ... she wants all three.
Excerpt
Mike Corritore wheeled up the circular drive of the impressive house on
Lakeshore Road and cut the engine on his motorcycle. After a quick glance
around, he shouldered the bags containing his clothes, ammo, pump shotgun, and
talwar sword. Then he headed for the carved front door. The doorbell echoed
inside indicating the mansion had a cavernous entry hall. He searched the
entrance stoop for security cameras and found none.
What the heck had he gotten himself into? A rich bitch, with no
security on her home, mixed up with a bad syndicate spelled major trouble. With
this chintzy level of security, it would take more time than he originally
anticipated to make her house and business secure.
After a couple of minutes the door opened.
“Can I help you?” asked an attractive redhead.
“I’m Mike Corritore. Here to see Fiona Kayler. Will you tell her I’ve
arrived?”
The redhead looked him over, then braced her legs shoulder width apart
and crossed her arms over her curvy bust. “Do you have identification, Mr.
Corritore?”
Mike returned her once-over. Her porcelain complexion blushed pink at
his bold examination, and she tossed her mane of wavy, mahogany hair defiantly.
Damn, she was gorgeous.
If she thought her insolent pose enough to keep him, or intruders out,
she’d better reconsider.
“Hugh sent me.” He stepped forward but she blocked him.
“A driver’s license for your very expensive motorcycle will suffice,”
she said, wiggling her fingers at him. When he didn’t comply, she stepped back
and reached to the side of the door.
The distinct cachung of a gun
cocking sent him flying to the right of the doorway.
“Identification, Mr. Corritore. Please,” she said as she leveled a
pistol at him.
Mike dug in his rear pants’ pocket. “Hugh lied,” he said as he held out
his driver’s license. “You don’t need protection.”
After inspecting his identification, she lowered her weapon and waved
him inside. “For my business, Mr. Corritore. I’m capable of protecting my home,
but I can’t draw my gun just anywhere.”
“You should get a conceal and carry license,” Mike said as he entered.
She put the safety on the gun and stashed the weapon in the table
beside the front door.
“I take it you’re not the help,” he said, glancing around the entry
hall.
She held out her hand. “Fiona Kayler. Nice to meet you, Mr. Corritore.”
“Mike,” he said, taking her hand. Her palm, warm and soft, told him she
lived a life of leisure. But her strong grip screamed, No patsy. He held her hand a bit longer than he should have. She
wriggled free and waved him to the left.
“Ladies first.”
With a nod, she led him toward a sumptuously decorated room. He
followed, his eyes taking in the soft curves of her rear as she sashayed across
the marble-tiled floor. Mike’s body reacted to the seductive wiggle of her
bottom. She walked as sexy as she looked.
Keep your mind on the job,
Corritore. He
shifted his gaze away from temptation, searching the ceiling and corners of the
entry for security cameras. If she had them, they were well hidden.
The measured click of her high heels on the hard marble tile floor
disappeared as they stepped on the thick, white carpet of the living room. This
room appeared cozier than the entry. A huge gold, gilt-edged mirror hung over
the fireplace reflecting the scene outside the oversized plate-glass window.
She motioned to a seat beside the fireplace. Mike chose a location less
exposed to the exterior, where he could watch the entrance to the room. Fiona
dragged a side chair across the room to where he sat, positioning it at a right
angle to his seat. Two vertical furrows appeared in the carpeting, bisecting
their shoe impressions and the vacuumed paths in the thick fibers. Apparently,
she didn’t use this room much.
“So, Ms. Kayler—”
“Fiona,” she corrected.
“Fiona, exactly what do you need me to do?” As he said the words, he
had a lurid vision of what he’d like to do to this lovely woman. He shook it
off. She was Hugh’s friend and in trouble. He had no business screwing around
with damsels in distress. They were needy. The last thing he wanted.
“A couple of years ago I had a problem with smugglers. They brought in
some hazardous materials which got me in trouble with Homeland Security and the
FBI. They cleared me, but my business took a pretty big hit. To keep things
afloat, I’ve had to get in bed with some rough characters recently.”
At the phrase get in bed with Mike
cocked his eyebrow at her.
“Not literally,” she amended quickly, as a dusky pink blush crept over
her pale complexion. “I need my security beefed up so I don’t have a replay of
two years ago.”
“Any good security company could upgrade you.”
“I also need someone I can trust implicitly. Hugh vouched for you, and
I trust Hugh.”
“We should start with your home security. I didn’t see surveillance
cameras at the door.”
“My home is perfectly safe. It’s my business I’m concerned about.”
Fiona crossed her arms over her chest, her body language closing off to
further suggestions. Mike followed her motions. As he did, he spotted a red dot
on her chest. The dot wiggled.
“Get down!” Mike shouted as he dove for Fiona.
Amazon buy links:
Bio:
Putting words and stories on paper is
second nature to co-authors C.D. Hersh. They’ve written separately since they
were teenagers and discovered their unique, collaborative abilities in the
mid-90s. As high school sweethearts and husband and wife, Catherine and Donald
believe in true love and happily ever after.
Together they have co-authored a number of
dramas, six which have been produced in Ohio, where they live. Their
interactive Christmas production had five seasonal runs in their
hometown and has been sold in Virginia, California, and Ohio. Their most recent
collaborative writing efforts have been focused on romance. The first four
books of their paranormal romance series entitled The Turning Stone Chronicles are available on Amazon. They also have a
Christmas novella, Kissing Santa, in a Christmas anthology titled Sizzle
in the Snow, with seven other authors.
Where
you can find CD:
